Depth chart breakdown: Here’s where Penn State football stands at cornerback in 2021

There isn’t a deeper position on Penn State football’s defense than cornerback heading into the 2021 season. The group has an excellent combination of depth and upside that could make for interesting training camp battles and combinations on the field.

Let’s wrap up the defensive side of the depth chart breakdown with cornerback.

Projected starters

Senior Tariq Castro-Fields and redshirt sophomore Joey Porter Jr.

The Nittany Lions’ strength at corner starts at the top of the depth chart with two starters who have proven they can play at a high level. Tariq Castro-Fields and Joey Porter Jr. both have the ability to go up against opposing teams’ No. 1 options at wide receivers and have versatile enough skill sets to be interchangeable against that level of talent.

Castro-Fields is the clear leader of the group and brings plenty of experience to the table. He’s played in 40 games, starting 18 of them. Each of those numbers would have increased by six but the senior cornerback missed six games in 2020 due to injury. Prior to his injury it seemed he had found the consistency that had evaded him to that point in his career. He had an up and down junior year but looked the part of a high-level cornerback early last season before getting dinged up.

The senior is a long and athletic corner with the strength to battle with more physical receivers at the line of scrimmage. He’s capable on the inside but is at his best on the outside against bigger wide receivers. He can struggle with getting his head around and tracking the ball downfield, but Castro-Fields is often in position to make a play. Now it’s just a matter of turning those opportunities into more pass breakups in turnovers in his final season on campus.

While Castro-Fields brings leadership and experience, it’s Porter who has some of the most upside on the roster. He’s played in 12 games of a possible 22 since he enrolled prior to the 2019 season, starting in eight of them, all of which came in the 2020 season. He has the pedigree to be an NFL-caliber talent with his dad — Joey Sr. — playing linebacker in the NFL for 13 seasons. The younger Porter has the build to eventually grow into a safety, but his athletic prowess and ability on the outside should keep him at corner for the foreseeable future.

He’s a big, athletic corner at 6-foot-2, 195 pounds and he uses every bit of his size to his advantage. He muscles up against big wide receivers, knocking them off their route and beating them in 1-on-1 jump ball situations. He uses his hands well at the line of scrimmage and doesn’t get beat often when he’s in press coverage. Once receivers are into their routes, Porter sticks to them and doesn’t allow for much separation. Had Castro-Fields left for the 2021 NFL Draft, it’s safe to say Penn State would’ve been fine at corner. With Porter as the No. 2 to the senior, the unit is in even better shape at the top.

Key backups

Freshman Kalen King and juniors Keaton Ellis and Johnny Dixon

While the strength starts at the top at corner, it continues into the backups. The Nittany Lions should have three primary backups — and potentially a fourth in redshirt sophomore Daequan Hardy — who can play inside or outside at corner. In fact, one of Kalen King, Keaton Ellis or Johnny Dixon could see starter-level snaps as Penn State’s base defense gravitates toward more five defensive backs sets.

King has the highest upside among this group and has made an emphatic case this spring to start. He registered two interceptions in Penn State’s first open spring practice and was like glue on opposing receivers. He has decent size at 5-foot-11, but more than makes up with any perceived lack of elite size with good ball skills and high level change of direction when mirroring opposing receivers. He should be making an impact for the Nittany Lions for at least the next three years.

Ellis is the most likely of this group to see a position switch. He has decent speed for cornerback that becomes good speed at safety and he has the size and physicality to play in the run game at 5-foot-11, 192 pounds. The State College native could still stick at corner and prove his worth on the outside if that switch never comes. He has good athleticism but needs to refine the finer points of playing cornerback, including shortening his strides on breaks so he doesn’t get lost in coverage. Ellis is a good candidate for Penn State’s star position when the team goes to five defensive backs because of his versatility.

Dixon is the newcomer of the group and an intriguing option at corner. He started nine games out of the 22 he appeared in for South Carolina in two seasons as a Gamecock, including starting in eight of the team’s 10 games last season. Like many of the Nittany Lion cornerbacks he has good size at 6-foot, 188 pounds. He has good long speed and stays with receivers, but can struggle more in short areas where his lack of short-area quickness caused him trouble on occasion at South Carolina. An improvement there for the corner would be an important development.

Freshman to watch

True freshman Jeffrey Davis Jr.

King is the obvious answer here, but there will be plenty of eyes on him. Instead, we’ll go with another corner in the 2021 recruiting class that has good athletic upside and could be a sleeper for Penn State down the road.

Jeffrey Davis Jr. is an excellent athlete, but needs to add more weight before he’s ready to go in the Big Ten. The 6-foot, 170-pound cornerback would easily get beaten in press coverage with his current size and would be susceptible to bigger receivers. However, he has all the tools to be a starting-level player down the road because of his athleticism and intelligence. He reads quarterbacks well in zone coverage and is capable of making big plays while not putting himself in an overly-compromised positions. Davis Jr. may not crack the rotation this year, but that says more about the state of the position for Penn State than his ability.

This story was originally published July 20, 2021 at 10:07 AM.

Jon Sauber

Centre Daily Times

(814) 231-6461

Jon Sauber covers Penn State football and men’s basketball for the Centre Daily Times. He earned his B.A. in digital and print journalism from Penn State and his M.A. in sports journalism from IUPUI. His previous stops include jobs at The Indianapolis Star, the NCAA, and Rivals.